Best-Vaporizer

[wicke...@gmail.com]

Vaporizers come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and prices.
If you know one yourself that isn't in the list below,
Please feel free to let us know.
http://www.wickedroots.com (Best Vaporizer Company Award 2004)
http://www.phedor.com (Best Hash Vaporizer) Only Hash / Herb Vaporizer
available as of 2005
http://www.vapezilla.com (Vapezilla Herbal Vaporizer)
http://www.air.com (Vapir / Vapir One)
http://www.aromazap.com (Aromazap)
http://www.aromed.com (AroMed)
http://www.thefogger.com (The Fogger)
http://www.de-verdamper.nl (The Verdamper)
http://www.lightwell.net (Eterra)
http://www.happyvappy.com (HappyVappy)
http://www.vaportechco.com (VaporTech)
http://www.vapolution.com (Vapolution)
http://www.inavap.com (The InaVap)
http://www.volatizer.com (The Volatizer)
http://www.vriptech.com (VripMaster)
http://www.vapormed.com (Volcano)
http://www.vaporbrothers.com (Vapor brothers)
http://www.vaporwarez.com (VaporDoc)
http://www.amazingvapor.com (The Vaporizer)
http://www.vaporvisions.net/ (Vapor Visions Vaporizer)
http://www.herborizer.com/ (Herborizer)
http://www.vaporgenie.com/ (VaporGenie)
http://www.silversurfervap.com/ (Silver Surfer)
http://www.fosheezeevaporizers.com/ (Fosheezee Vaporizer) (Conduction
Vaporizer, best used with oil)
http://www.bcvaporizer.com/ (BC Vaporizer) (Conduction Vaporizer, best
used with oil)
http://www.vapureyes.com/ (Vapureyes) (Conduction Vaporizer, best used
with oil)
http://www.vapie.com/ (Vapie) (Conduction Vaporizer, best used with
oil)

[wicke...@gmail.com]

Why Cannabis Vaporization?

Vaporization is a technique for avoiding irritating respiratory toxins
in marijuana smoke by heating cannabis to a temperature where the
psychoactive ingredients evaporate without causing combustion.

Laboratory studies by California NORML and MAPS have found that
vaporizers can efficiently deliver cannabinoids while eliminating or
drastically reducing other smoke toxins.

Like tobacco, marijuana smoke contains toxins that are known to be
hazardous to the respiratory system. Among them are the highly
carcinogenic polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, a prime suspect in
cigarette-related cancers. These toxins are essentially a byproduct of
combustion, separate from the pharmaceutically active components of
marijuana, known as cannabinoids, which include THC. Although there is
no proof that marijuana smoking causes cancer, chronic pot smokers have
been shown to suffer an elevated risk of bronchitis and respiratory
infections. Respiratory disease due to smoking may therefore rightly be
regarded as the primary physiological hazard of marijuana.

Cannabis vaporizers are designed to let users inhale active
cannabinoids while avoiding harmful smoke toxins. They do so by heating
cannabis to a temperature of 180 - 200° C (356° - 392° F), just
below the point of combustion where smoke is produced. At this point,
THC and other medically active cannabinoids are emitted with little or
none of the carcinogenic tars and noxious gases found in smoke. Many
medical marijuana patients who find smoked marijuana highly irritating
report effective relief inhaling through vaporizers. Users who are
concerned about the respiratory hazards of smoking are strongly advised
to use vaporizers. Alternative devices, such as waterpipes, have been
shown to be ineffective at reducing the tars in marijuana smoke
(Report).

Many models of vaporizer are currently on the market.

Vaporizers available:

Vapezilla Vaporizer 2004 17th High Times Cannabis Cup Winner. Defeated
Volcano Vaporizer,Vapir Vaporizer, VaporDoc Vaporizer, And Eagle Bill
Vaporizer.

http://www.wickedroots.com (Best Vaporizer Company Award 2004)
http://www.phedor.com (Best Hash Vaporizer) Only Hash / Herb Vaporizer
available as of 2005
http://www.vapezilla.com (Vapezilla Herbal Vaporizer)

The Vriptech - A popular design consisting of a hot air gun blowing
into a bong
Herballoon - Based on design of Volcano, uses balloon to collect vapor.

Smoke-Right - "Ubie" glass tube holds sample, you heat it with a
lighter - portable and inexpensive
HappyVappy - Compact streamlined design.
VaperWarez - Wooden chassis with tube insert.
The Vapie - Higher tech model from Portland, Oregon
Aromazap - Armotherapy convection-type oil diffuser.
The Vapouriser - Affordable British model heats cannabis in a closed
chamber.
"Vapir" Air-2 Digital Air - with portable battery pack
Aromed - German system with automatic digital temperature control
Eterra - Wooden classic and new Tulip model (Emeryville CA)
Vapomizer - Inexpensive glass tube works with cigarette lighter
Pot Cooker - Inexpensive model
VaporTech - High Times award winner, Miami FL
Herbalizer - British Columbian model
MarijuanaVaporizer.com (Australian)
"The original" (Canadian)
The "Ultimate" Vaporizer - Air gun model
Vaporizer Vendors:

VaporWarehouse (portion of sales donated to Cal NORML)

[wicke...@gmail.com]

Introduction:
The format followed is for the mechanically impaired (i.e. me), so if
this seems obnoxiously simple and detailed, it's probably because it
is. Deviate/modify or mutilate the design however you want-but please
let us know of any ass kickin' ideas that hit you.

Here are the 3 rules I found most helpful in building stuff (remnants
from my model rocketry days)

Collect/buy/steal allthe necessary parts or reasonable facsimiles of
them before starting the actual construction.
Buy/borrow/steal allthe necessary tools. Try not to skimp here. Having
the right tool for the right job is a must (I learned this the hard way
:() Many schools/colleges have woodshops! Take advantage!
Most importantly...patience. Don't underestimate this! It can make make
or break this most precious educational device. That is:
Take your time buying the parts (unless you have lots of $$$), you
might find stuff on sale, in trash piles, or from friends.
Apply the above to the tools as well.
Before cutting, drilling, gluing, or whatever, recheck (and rethink)
what you're about to do. Does it make sense? Is this the right side?
Etc. It sucks to get halfway done, screw up and have to start over,
which brings us to...
Read/reread/reread/... the instructions until you are 100% (not 99%)
sure you know what to do. If you're unsure ask someone! It's amazing
how helpful people can be! (Just tell them you're building a tornado
chamber for a school project, model rocket, cloud chamber :) , or
something equally bogus)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phase I: The Parts
Part # Comments
Est. Cost
---- --- ---------
---------
a) 33W Solder Element 1 Radio Shack(RS) (64-2082)
$9.00
b) Solder handle 1 RS (64-2080)
$7.00
c) Wood (8x8x3/4) 1 Dimensions are given for a guide
<$1.00
d) Wooden dowel (24x1/2") 1 Check out indoor clothes racks :)
<$1.00
e) Extension cord 1 Optional
<$2.00
f) 2 liter soda bottle 1 Make sure it has black base
<$2.00
g) Small brass bowl 1 From Head shop or Plumbing supplies
<$2.00
h) Rubber Grommet 1 Auto supply (wheels, etc)
<$2.00
i) Aluminum foil Just need a little
Free
j) Wood screws 3 About 1/2" is fine
<$1.00
k) Clear Silicone 1(Tube) Any hardware store
$4.00
m) Small Block of wood 1 About 2x2x3/4 is fine
Free
n) Rubber band 1 Should fit snuggly around the bottle
Free

---------
Total Cost ~
$31.00
(This is an
UPPER
bound for
sure!!)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phase II: The Tools
Tool Comments
---- --------
A) Screwdriver For wood screws
B) Exacto knife To cut plastic
C) Saw Obviously for the wood :)
D) Hacksaw (optional) Cuts dowel nicely
E) Drill w/1",1 1/8",1/16", [*] bits Try to get kind of close on the
bits.
F) Ruler Very handy!
G) Pencil ditto!
H) C-clamp ditto!
I) Sandpaper (optional) We wouldn't want any splinters
:)
J) Protractor (optional) For fun with trigonometry!

[*] You'll also need a bit the same width as your dowel (1/2")

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phase III: Construction
Step 1: Base

Trace out an equilateral triangle on wood (c).
Cut out triangle from wood, see fig 1.
Sand down all sides and edges.
________________
| /\ |
| / \ |
| / 60 \ |<- Part (c)
| / \ |
| /<-Saw ->\ |
| / \ |
|/ 60 60 \|
/_____________ \
|< ~ 8" >|

Fig. 1

Hints:

Use ruler and exacto to create a "guiding" groove (v-shaped) for the
saw.
An equilateral triangle has equal sides with 60 deg angles, so a
protractor might be nice.
Step 2: Mount
Label one side as T (top) and the other B (bottom).
Draw (on BOTH sides) three lines as follows: Bisect each side of the
triangle and mark it. With the ruler draw a line (label l) from the
bisector to the opposing vertex. The result is three lines intersecting
in the center of the triangle (label it IP).
On the top side, drill (1 1/8" bit) about 1/8" at IP. This is the
resting bed for the solder handle.
On the top side, drill (1" bit) about 1/2" at IP.
On the bottom side drill (1" bit) at IP to complete the hole. The
reason for drilling on both sides is to prevent splintering on the
surface.
Sand any roughness down.
Step 3: Legs
Cut dowel (d) with hacksaw into three 8" pieces (These are the legs).
Since I didn't have a drill press, making the holes for the legs in the
base was a little tricky. Here is how I did it:
On block of wood (m) drill a hole (with the bit of dowel width) at
about 15 degrees off the normal all the way through. This is known as a
jig (Fig. 2). Draw a reference line along the jig.
^ Normal
___|_____
/ | /|
/----O---/ /
/ / /
--------- /
|________|/

Fig. 2

Place the base bottom side up on your workbench. Then align the jig
with a line (l) so that the jig hole is about 1 1/2" from the vertex.
Clamp it all down and using the jig as your guide, drill through the
base. Make sure that the tilt of the jig points outward. Repeat for the
other two vertices. Now you should be able to slide the dowels in and
voila, you have a stable table! It should look sorta like a landed UFO
(bearing gifts for humanity)! I didn't glue the legs in, because I
liked to take them out for traveling purposes :)
Step 4: Chamber Base
Take 2 liter soda bottle (f) and cut out a circle of about 2" radius
from the bottom with the exacto knife. Take care to cut so as not to
destroy the little holes around the perimeter of the base. You should
be able to detach the black base (label CB) from the bottle. Do it. Put
the bottle aside for step 5.
Align CB onto the wood base (Top) so that it is facing up, centered,
and the lines (l) can be seen through 3 of the "screw holes".
With the smallest bit you have, drill 1/4" into the 3 holes.
Put silicone (k) around the bottom of CB, realign it with the drill
holes, apply pressure, and then screw in the 3 screws (j) into the
drill holes. Now this is fixed! Add silicone liberally to make sure
it's sealed up nice and tight...wouldn't want to loose anything.
Step 5: Chamber
Note: As you can see, placing the bottle into CB gives a nicely sealed
chamber. Another bonus is, no matter where you are, finding a
replacement chamber is exceedingly simple.

Cut a small hole towards the bottom of the bottle (but not low enough
to be covered by CB) with the exacto knife.
Fit the grommet (h) into the hole. Shave with exacto if the hole isn't
big enough. If you screw up...get another bottle :)
Save the cap to the bottle (this is the "mouthpiece cap")
Place a rubber band around the bottle and use it to hold a coin over
the grommet.
Step 6: Bowl Element
Note: Since I couldn't find a bowl that would screw nicely onto the tip
of the soldering element and I wanted a good contact without getting to
fancy...

Take a thin strip of aluminum foil (~1/4"x1') and wrap it around the
tip of the soldering element (where the solder tip would normally go)
Gently try and twist the bowl on. Remove foil (in small strips) if
necessary.
Once the bowl is on, use the eraser end of the pencil to crimp it into
place (look inside the bowl-push down on the foil sticking up over the
soldering element tip).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phase IV: Operation
Putting It All together:

Place solder handle cord through hole in base, pull it through until
the solder handle rests nicely in the bed you've made for it.
Screw the soldering element into the handle.
Load the bowl.....drum roll please! Note: Just a little, i.e, the bowl
should contain less than 3/4 its capacity. Pack it with a pencil eraser
or something similar.
Mount the bottle into CB.
Turn it on (plug it in - or better yet, connect it through a switch).
Wait until vapors appear (3.5-4 minutes) and turn it off. Otherwise it
might start to burn :(
Remove coin, remove cap, hit, have next person place finger on the
grommet, replace cap, go to the end of the line. Comment: Taking the
cap off gets to be a pain, so a resting cover will work nicer. I am
going to try cutting off the threaded part of the cap...
You should be able to get 3 to 6 good hits (depending on the quality of
your grass) out of this small amount!
Remove bottle, Push handle out from bottom. Tap bowl gently into
ash-tray, replace handle. Be very careful not to touch element!
Replace coin on bottle, goto (3) and repeat until everyone is happily
baked! And notice how little of your precious stash has been used!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phase V: Transportation and Storage
As an added bonus, vaporizers have great stealth potential, unlike
pipes, bongs, etc. Break the whole thing down, put it in a box, add
fluff and bango, you now have an art kit, or science project, or model
railroading fog device, or whatever! By fluff, I mean chuck in some
clay, paint brushes, paints, wires, model parts, etc into the box.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miscellaneous:
I think that the solder handle can be replaced with the sockets used
for christmas lights (like the candles).
I have found that the vapor is far less pungent than smoke (another
stealthing bonus), but the bottle acquires a strong scent after a
couple uses and may need to be replaced (cleaned?).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction:
The format followed is for the mechanically impaired (i.e. me), so if
this seems obnoxiously simple and detailed, it's probably because it
is. Deviate/modify or mutilate the design however you want-but please
let us know of any ass kickin' ideas that hit you.

Here are the 3 rules I found most helpful in building stuff (remnants
from my model rocketry days)

Collect/buy/steal allthe necessary parts or reasonable facsimiles of
them before starting the actual construction.
Buy/borrow/steal allthe necessary tools. Try not to skimp here. Having
the right tool for the right job is a must (I learned this the hard way
:() Many schools/colleges have woodshops! Take advantage!
Most importantly...patience. Don't underestimate this! It can make make
or break this most precious educational device. That is:
Take your time buying the parts (unless you have lots of $$$), you
might find stuff on sale, in trash piles, or from friends.
Apply the above to the tools as well.
Before cutting, drilling, gluing, or whatever, recheck (and rethink)
what you're about to do. Does it make sense? Is this the right side?
Etc. It sucks to get halfway done, screw up and have to start over,
which brings us to...
Read/reread/reread/... the instructions until you are 100% (not 99%)
sure you know what to do. If you're unsure ask someone! It's amazing
how helpful people can be! (Just tell them you're building a tornado
chamber for a school project, model rocket, cloud chamber :) , or
something equally bogus)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phase I: The Parts
Part # Comments
Est. Cost
---- --- ---------
---------
a) 33W Solder Element 1 Radio Shack(RS) (64-2082)
$9.00
b) Solder handle 1 RS (64-2080)
$7.00
c) Wood (8x8x3/4) 1 Dimensions are given for a guide
<$1.00
d) Wooden dowel (24x1/2") 1 Check out indoor clothes racks :)
<$1.00
e) Extension cord 1 Optional
<$2.00
f) 2 liter soda bottle 1 Make sure it has black base
<$2.00
g) Small brass bowl 1 From Head shop or Plumbing supplies
<$2.00
h) Rubber Grommet 1 Auto supply (wheels, etc)
<$2.00
i) Aluminum foil Just need a little
Free
j) Wood screws 3 About 1/2" is fine
<$1.00
k) Clear Silicone 1(Tube) Any hardware store
$4.00
m) Small Block of wood 1 About 2x2x3/4 is fine
Free
n) Rubber band 1 Should fit snuggly around the bottle
Free

---------
Total Cost ~
$31.00
(This is an
UPPER
bound for
sure!!)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phase II: The Tools
Tool Comments
---- --------
A) Screwdriver For wood screws
B) Exacto knife To cut plastic
C) Saw Obviously for the wood :)
D) Hacksaw (optional) Cuts dowel nicely
E) Drill w/1",1 1/8",1/16", [*] bits Try to get kind of close on the
bits.
F) Ruler Very handy!
G) Pencil ditto!
H) C-clamp ditto!
I) Sandpaper (optional) We wouldn't want any splinters
:)
J) Protractor (optional) For fun with trigonometry!

[*] You'll also need a bit the same width as your dowel (1/2")

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phase III: Construction
Step 1: Base

Trace out an equilateral triangle on wood (c).
Cut out triangle from wood, see fig 1.
Sand down all sides and edges.
________________
| /\ |
| / \ |
| / 60 \ |<- Part (c)
| / \ |
| /<-Saw ->\ |
| / \ |
|/ 60 60 \|
/_____________ \
|< ~ 8" >|

Fig. 1

Hints:

Use ruler and exacto to create a "guiding" groove (v-shaped) for the
saw.
An equilateral triangle has equal sides with 60 deg angles, so a
protractor might be nice.
Step 2: Mount
Label one side as T (top) and the other B (bottom).
Draw (on BOTH sides) three lines as follows: Bisect each side of the
triangle and mark it. With the ruler draw a line (label l) from the
bisector to the opposing vertex. The result is three lines intersecting
in the center of the triangle (label it IP).
On the top side, drill (1 1/8" bit) about 1/8" at IP. This is the
resting bed for the solder handle.
On the top side, drill (1" bit) about 1/2" at IP.
On the bottom side drill (1" bit) at IP to complete the hole. The
reason for drilling on both sides is to prevent splintering on the
surface.
Sand any roughness down.
Step 3: Legs
Cut dowel (d) with hacksaw into three 8" pieces (These are the legs).
Since I didn't have a drill press, making the holes for the legs in the
base was a little tricky. Here is how I did it:
On block of wood (m) drill a hole (with the bit of dowel width) at
about 15 degrees off the normal all the way through. This is known as a
jig (Fig. 2). Draw a reference line along the jig.
^ Normal
___|_____
/ | /|
/----O---/ /
/ / /
--------- /
|________|/

Fig. 2

Place the base bottom side up on your workbench. Then align the jig
with a line (l) so that the jig hole is about 1 1/2" from the vertex.
Clamp it all down and using the jig as your guide, drill through the
base. Make sure that the tilt of the jig points outward. Repeat for the
other two vertices. Now you should be able to slide the dowels in and
voila, you have a stable table! It should look sorta like a landed UFO
(bearing gifts for humanity)! I didn't glue the legs in, because I
liked to take them out for traveling purposes :)
Step 4: Chamber Base
Take 2 liter soda bottle (f) and cut out a circle of about 2" radius
from the bottom with the exacto knife. Take care to cut so as not to
destroy the little holes around the perimeter of the base. You should
be able to detach the black base (label CB) from the bottle. Do it. Put
the bottle aside for step 5.
Align CB onto the wood base (Top) so that it is facing up, centered,
and the lines (l) can be seen through 3 of the "screw holes".
With the smallest bit you have, drill 1/4" into the 3 holes.
Put silicone (k) around the bottom of CB, realign it with the drill
holes, apply pressure, and then screw in the 3 screws (j) into the
drill holes. Now this is fixed! Add silicone liberally to make sure
it's sealed up nice and tight...wouldn't want to loose anything.
Step 5: Chamber
Note: As you can see, placing the bottle into CB gives a nicely sealed
chamber. Another bonus is, no matter where you are, finding a
replacement chamber is exceedingly simple.

Cut a small hole towards the bottom of the bottle (but not low enough
to be covered by CB) with the exacto knife.
Fit the grommet (h) into the hole. Shave with exacto if the hole isn't
big enough. If you screw up...get another bottle :)
Save the cap to the bottle (this is the "mouthpiece cap")
Place a rubber band around the bottle and use it to hold a coin over
the grommet.
Step 6: Bowl Element
Note: Since I couldn't find a bowl that would screw nicely onto the tip
of the soldering element and I wanted a good contact without getting to
fancy...

Take a thin strip of aluminum foil (~1/4"x1') and wrap it around the
tip of the soldering element (where the solder tip would normally go)
Gently try and twist the bowl on. Remove foil (in small strips) if
necessary.
Once the bowl is on, use the eraser end of the pencil to crimp it into
place (look inside the bowl-push down on the foil sticking up over the
soldering element tip).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phase IV: Operation
Putting It All together:

Place solder handle cord through hole in base, pull it through until
the solder handle rests nicely in the bed you've made for it.
Screw the soldering element into the handle.
Load the bowl.....drum roll please! Note: Just a little, i.e, the bowl
should contain less than 3/4 its capacity. Pack it with a pencil eraser
or something similar.
Mount the bottle into CB.
Turn it on (plug it in - or better yet, connect it through a switch).
Wait until vapors appear (3.5-4 minutes) and turn it off. Otherwise it
might start to burn :(
Remove coin, remove cap, hit, have next person place finger on the
grommet, replace cap, go to the end of the line. Comment: Taking the
cap off gets to be a pain, so a resting cover will work nicer. I am
going to try cutting off the threaded part of the cap...
You should be able to get 3 to 6 good hits (depending on the quality of
your grass) out of this small amount!
Remove bottle, Push handle out from bottom. Tap bowl gently into
ash-tray, replace handle. Be very careful not to touch element!
Replace coin on bottle, goto (3) and repeat until everyone is happily
baked! And notice how little of your precious stash has been used!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phase V: Transportation and Storage
As an added bonus, vaporizers have great stealth potential, unlike
pipes, bongs, etc. Break the whole thing down, put it in a box, add
fluff and bango, you now have an art kit, or science project, or model
railroading fog device, or whatever! By fluff, I mean chuck in some
clay, paint brushes, paints, wires, model parts, etc into the box.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miscellaneous:
I think that the solder handle can be replaced with the sockets used
for christmas lights (like the candles).
I have found that the vapor is far less pungent than smoke (another
stealthing bonus), but the bottle acquires a strong scent after a
couple uses and may need to be replaced (cleaned?).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.wickedroots.com (Best Vaporizer Company Award 2004)
http://www.phedor.com (Best Hash Vaporizer) Only Hash / Herb Vaporizer
available as of 2005

http://www.vapezilla.com (Vapezilla Herbal Vaporizer - Best Vaporizer
to date)

[wicke...@gmail.com]

Disclaimer: the author makes no guarantees about the safety of the
device described in this file. Wiring errors or careless use on the
part of the reader could cause injuries or fires. Furthermore, the
author does not encourage the use of cannabis where it is illegal to do
so. In short, if you set your carpet on fire or get busted for
possession of drug paraphernalia, don't hassle me.
Greeting fellow deviants. The following is a simple design for a
"vaporizer," an electric smoking device which heats your favorite hemp
products to a temperature at which THC molecules wiggle enough to go
airborne, but below that at which vegetable matter and tars and other
nasties burn into lung-damaging smoke. Vaporizing is also more
efficient since the high temperatures involved in smoking reportedly
destroy some percentage of the THC. The Vapourizer page says it best:

REASONS FOR VAPOURIZING:

Activation of THC acids in cannabis (decarboxylation); this occurs at
around 103 degrees Celcius with vapourization at around 180-200
degrees. Smoking performs this process but is reported to destroy
between 40 and 98% of the THC (Korte, Miras etc*).
The 'smoke' is much cooler and easier in the lungs.
The high is subtly different from that obtained with other methods.
The higher efficiency saves you money.
*from The Botany and Chemistry of Cannabis, Joyce and Curry (1970)
The design in that file, the first I've seen to use a soldering iron
rather than an auto cigarette lighter element, is what motivated this
design. This difference and the use of a dimmer switch for temperature
control are the really the only essential elements of this design.
There's plenty of room for creativity in its configuration and vapor
enclosure, but this works for me:

What you're going to be building is essentially a soldering iron
sticking out of a Pepsi bottle. The iron will be plugged into a box
housing a rotary dimmer switch, allowing control of the current into
the iron's heating element. A slim, high-temperature thermometer
strapped to the iron's shaft helps the user stay inside the
vaporization range, if one is available.

Gather:

An empty wide-mouthed soft drink container (e.g., a 3-liter bottle or a
Pepsi "Big Slam" 1-liter bottle). If you can only find a 3-liter
bottle, and you later find that this makes too large a vapor chamber,
consider cutting out the mouth and attaching it to a 2- or 1-liter
bottle.
A cheap soldering iron whose handle, at its widest point, is at least
1/4 inch narrower than the bottle's mouth. Try to find one whose tip
can be unscrewed and removed, leaving a hollow space in the iron's
shaft; otherwise, you'll have to devise a way of impaling some sort of
heat-conducting bowl (layered aluminum foil?) on the tip. Note that I
mean the very tip - many soldering irons allow the entire shaft to be
unscrewed out of a small socket, but that won't do you any good. Radio
Shack and other electronics shops carry soldering irons.
A cheap socket-mount rotary dimmer switch. Available anywhere basic
hardware supplies are sold.
A case for the dimmer switch. A very good choice is a plastic 10-disc
3.5 inch floppy box.
A slim high-temperature thermometer, small enough to fit snugly against
the shaft of the soldering iron (i.e., not a big round oven
thermometer) and including the range 150-250 C. [Optional]
STEPS:

Affix the bottle cap to the soldering iron
Must precede step II. Here's the basic idea:

Iron ---

________|\_____ Cord | | Wide-mouth

Before [________| _____|======= | | cap

|/ | |

--- (top)

Iron ---
_______| |____ Cord
After [_______| |____|=======
| |
---

Get it? When you screw the cap back on, the heating element will be
enclosed in the bottle. This is the part that makes it important for
the handle to be at least 1/4" narrower than the bottleneck. The base
of the shaft will get rather warm; the soda bottle is not made of
high-temp plastic like the iron's handle, and releases toxic fumes (and
eventually melts) when it gets hot, so it's important that they don't
touch. Anyway, just cut a hole in the cap large enough for most of the
handle to fit through. A rubber grip on the soldering iron makes a nice
tight seal with this hole. Use tape to close any opening at the bottom
of the handle where the cord enters (the expanding air in the bottle
will force vapor out of this hole).
Eager to try your vaporizer? Skip to step V and be prepared to plug and
unplug the iron frequently during use to keep the temp. down (or plug
it into a power strip with a switch). Leaving it on continuously will
heat the plastic bottle too much; leaving it on and lying it on its
side will quickly melt the side of the bottle, make a big smoky plastic
mess, and possibly start a fire (see disclaimer).

Wiring the dimmer switch and soldering iron together
_________

[ Dimmer ] (not to
[ Switch ] scale)
from [_________] Plug

soldering || ___

iron / \ / |____

-----------------------/ \---------------------[ |

--------------------------------------------------[ |____

\___|

This crude ascii diagram is intended to demonstrate the wiring of the
dimmer switch into one of the soldering iron cord's two lines. I
suppose this requires minimal wiring skills (but not necessarily
experience). Use a knife to separate about 2" of the two wires in the
cord. I did this about 4" from the plug, leaving lots of cord between
the dimmer and the iron; eventually I plugged my switch box into an
extension cord rather than squatting next to a wall socket. Make sure
you don't expose the wire on the side you won't be cutting. Now cut one
wire and strip about 1/2" down both sides. Use the screw-down
connectors included with the dimmer to join its wires to the cord (just
twist the two wires together and screw the connector down hard). Wrap
the connections in plastic tape to be safe.
Housing the dimmer switch
I just cut a hole in one side of a plastic 10-disk 3.5" floppy case
large enough for the little metal rotor in the rotary dimmer switch to
fit through and bolted the dimmer to the case. It went in diagonally.
No drill? Make the holes for the bolts by driving a wood screw through
the plastic. Mark "off" and "max" settings and adorn to taste.

Attaching the thermometer
_
_|_|_

| | This is supposed to show a slim, high-temp thermometer
| | | attached to the shaft of the iron. Attach it with wire

| | | (strip the paper off a bag tie). The thermometer must
| o | contact the iron as tightly as possible and must
include
----- the range 150-250 Celcius or so.
___|_|___
\ / I have not accomplished this yet - all the oven therms.

\ / I have found are far too large for the task.
| |

Soft drink bottle ---> vapor chamber
The bottom of your bottle will be the top of the vapor chamber. Cut a
roughly 1/2" diameter hole near the bottom of the bottle, and cut a
smaller hole for air intake near the neck. Voila.

Assembly and usage
Here's another crude ascii drawing to illustrate the whole setup:

_____

/ O \ Pack the hollow space in the shaft of the iron with

| | your favorite hemp product. Buds are best chopped into

| ~ | small bits. For use with hash, consider filling all

| ~ | but the top 1/2" of the shaft with aluminum foil.

| ~ | If you're forced to fashion a bowl on a nonremovable

| ~ | tip, make sure it fits in the mouth and resists
| o H | spillage, and realize only material very very close to

\ H / a hot surface will vaporize (huge, stuffed bowls won't
\_H_/ work right).

[___]

| | Dimmer Box

|_| ___[_]___ extension cord socket

\__________________| |__[=[-------------------------[=

|_________|

Screw the cap down and power up! Keep both holes covered with your
fingers and wait about 1 minute. Put the dimmer on full at first to get
up to the working temp. Turn the switch down some when you see first
see white vapor rising from the bowl. Unless you've got the
thermometer, finding the right dimmer setting to vaporize without
combustion will take several trials :> . If you do have it, a reminder:
shoot for 200 Celcius.
Allow a decent cloud of vapor to form before putting your mouth to the
top hole, release the carb (bottom hole) and inhale! Ahhh.

Heuristics:
How to tell smoke from vapor: while both are white, vapor rises from
the bowl more slowly and evenly, while smoke sort of billows out when
the temperatures becomes too high. Also, you'll notice a pronounced
difference in the flavor of a vapor hit.
If you hear a quiet buzzing coming from the dimmer switch, don't fear.
It's coming from a capacitor in there somewhere and is sure to be some
multiple of 60 (50) hz. As an ee, I'd guess this buzzing is the reason
why G.E. put a lower limit of 75 W on the recommended power for my
dimmer (which I ignored; my iron was 25 W). A 75 watt bulb has a lower
resistance and would move some break frequency a little lower to make
that buzzing too quiet to notice. If you hear a quiet buzzing coming
from an orange, consider your vaporizer a success.
Think it might be a good idea to drill a hole near the bottom of the
shaft to let air flow up through the weed? So did I, until I actually
did it and found that the iron's shaft was filled with come kind of
heat-conducting powder, which promptly ran out of the hole. Bad idea.
The time delay between hits and the wires and whatnot detract a bit
from the smoking ritual. Hence, I only use my vaporizer about half the
time when smoking alone and only as a novelty among friends. However,
if harvesting resin from your bowl is your thing, there is no better
way to recycle it than with a vaporizer; smoked resin tastes so awful.
While one of vaporizing's benefits is its kindness to your lungs, I'm
in it for the efficiency; I usually smoke the brownish-black debris
from a vaporizer bowl in a bong. I can't say for sure whether it
contains very little THC or none at all. Furthermore, when vapor
emissions slow down, I crank the temperature a bit, combusting
materials on the fringes but chasing the last bits of THC out of the
stuff in the middle.
An expensive alternative: drop roughly $100 into a soldering station
with a temperature control (which goes as low as 200 C). If you have
access to such a device at a discount (used, etc.), this is definitely
the option for you. It provides simpler temperature control than the
dimmer switch-thermometer arrangement. On the other hand, the dimmer
and thermometer will cost you less than $20 ($6 for the dimmer).

I should mention that the dimmer switch-thermometer idea was offered by
a creative a.d.p. reader who read the previous version of this design.
Thanks!

That concludes version 1.1 of this Very Simple Vaporizer Design. This
240+ line instruction file merits the name Very Simple since it's
considerably easier and quicker to build than designs I've seen
involving car cigarette lighters, brazing tools, and step-down voltage
transformers. The only simpler design I've seen is a glass blender on a
frying pan. I'll reply to comments posted to a.d.p. or mailed to my
anon.penet.fi address. Feel free to distribute and repost this file, or
to alter, improve, or expand it.